The Taxman Cometh: Fewer Americans view their income taxes as fair

PRINCETON, N.J., April 15 (UPI) -- Fewer Americans today say they think the income taxes they must pay are fair, results of a Gallup poll released Monday, the final day to file taxes, indicated.

The 55 percent of Americans who view their income taxes as fair is the lowest percentage Gallup said it has measured since 2001.

Gallup's history of asking this question goes back to the 1940s. From 1943 through 1945, during World War II, few Americans complained about their taxes, with an average of 87 percent of Americans saying their taxes were fair.

After a hiatus, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency resurrected the question in the late 1990s, when an average 48 percent said their income taxes were fair, including the historical low of 45 percent in 1999.

The recent high in Americans' view that their taxes were fair, 64 percent, was in 2003 after President George w. Bush signed tax rate cuts into law weeks after the Iraq war began.

Results varied little by household income level or major demographic groups, Gallup said.

Results are based on nationwide telephone interviews with 1,005 adults conducted April 4-7. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.